Mirror moving mechanism for single-lens reflex cameras

ABSTRACT

A single-lens reflex camera wherein the device which reflects light against the focussing screen consists of a single mirror which is pivotable at a point close to its upper edge or of two discrete mirrors which are pivotable in opposite directions with reference to each other. The single mirror is pivotable from a position at an angle of 45* with reference to the optical axis to a position in which its reflecting surface faces the focussing screen by pivoting and by simultaneously moving rearwardly and upwardly so as to permit the placing of the lens close to the plane of an unexposed film frame. If the light is reflected by two discrete mirrors, one of the mirrors is movable in the same way as the single mirror or about a fixed pivot axis, and the other mirror is pivotable to a concealed position behind an internal wall of the camera body. The single mirror or the two discrete mirrors can automatically return to operative positions upon completion of each exposure or they can be held in inoperative positions during the interval between the completion of an exposure and the next following transport of film or as long as desired.

[ 51 July 11, 1972 [S4] MIRROR MOVING MECHANISM FOR SINGLE-LENS REFLEXCAMERAS [72] Inventors: Junlchl Yokozato; Shigeru Kurihara, both ofTokyo, Japan Zena Bronica Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha, Tokyo, Japan [22]Filed: May 28, 1969 [2]] AppllNo; 828,463

[73] Assignee:

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data June 5, I968 Japan ..43/38l25[52] US. Cl ..95/42,95/44 [51] Int. Cl. ....G03b 19/12 [58] Field ofSearch ..95/42, 44

[S6] Relerences Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 189L454 6/l959 Sauer et a]..95/42 2949073 8/[960 Weiss ..95/42 3,254,584 6/l966 Okajima 95/42FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 880997 6/1953 Germany ..95/42 [249,6709/ 1967 Germany ..95/42 Primary ExaminerSamuel 8. Matthews AssistantExaminer-Richard L. Moses Art0rne v-Michael S. Striker [57] ABSTRACT Asingle-lens reflex camera wherein the device which reflects lightagainst the focussing screen consists of a single mirror which ispivotable at a point close to its upper edge or of two discrete mirrorswhich are pivotable in opposite directions with reference to each other.The single mirror is pivotable from a position at an angle of 45 withreference to the optical axis to a position in which its reflectingsurface faces the focussing screen by pivoting and by simultaneouslymoving rearwardly and upwardly so as to permit the placing of the lensclose to the plane of an unexposed film frame. if the light is reflectedby two discrete mirrors, one of the mirrors is mova ble in the same wayas the single mirror or about a fixed pivot axis, and the other minor ispivotable to a concealed position behind an internal wall of the camerabody. The single mirror or the two discrete mirrors can automaticallyreturn to operative positions upon completion of each exposure or theycan be held in inoperative positions during the interval between thecompletion of an exposure and the next following transport of film or aslong as desired.

4 Claim, 7 Drawing figures PATENTEDJUL 1 1 m2 SHEET 2 OF 4 Z' C/ATTORNEY PATENTEDJUL 1 1 1912 3. 675,557

SHEET 3 DP 4 INVENTOR ATTORNEY MIRROR MOVING MECHANISM FOR SINGLE-LENSREFLEX CAMERAS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relatesto photographic apparatus in general, and more particularly toimprovements in single-lens reflex cameras. Still more particularly, theinvention relates to improvements in actuating means for moving themirror which reflects scene light against the focussing screen in asingle-lens reflex camera.

In presently known single-lens reflex cameras, the light reflectingmirror is pivotable between a position at an angle of 45 with referenceto the optical axis and an upper or inoperative position to therebypermit scene light to reach a film frame. The mirror is pivotable aboutan axis which is located in the region of its upper edge and is moved tothe inoperative position in response to actuation of the shutter releaseelement. The mirror reassumes the operative position when the exposureis completed.

A drawback of such cameras is that the mirror is pivotable about an axiswhich is adjacent to or coincides with its upper edge. Thus, when themirror pivots upwardly, its lower edge moves along an arcuate path andapproaches the picture taking lens of the camera. ln order to avoid acollision between the lens and the lower edge of the reflecting minor,the lens must be mounted in a position forwardly of the path of thelower edge portion of the mirror. This renders it impossible to equip aconventional single-lens reflex camera with a picture taking lens ofshort focal length. Also, the cameras using such pivotable mirrorscannot be provided with large-diameter lenses and the cameras cannot usefilm having large film frames. 1f the film frame is large, the mirror isalso large and requires more room for pivotal movement to theinoperative position.

In certain other single-lens reflex cameras, the mirror causes secondaryreflection of light which enters the camera body in the course of anexposure. This is due to the fact that the light-reflecting surface ofthe mirror is not concealed when the mirror dwells in its inoperativeposition.

In accordance with one of my earlier proposals, a one-piece reflectingmirror is pivotable in a downward direction so that it is located at alevel below the lens when the camera is ready to make an exposure. Suchmounting of the mirror eliminates several drawbacks of conventionalmirrors but the camera must be provided with a light-intercepting memberwhich prevents secondary reflection of scene light during the making ofexposures.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the invention is to provide asingle-lens reflex camera with a novel and improved mirror whichreflects scene light against the focussing screen in the view-finder ofthe camera.

Another object of the invention is to provide the camera with novelactuating means for moving the mirror between operative and inoperativepositions.

A further object of the invention is to provide a single-lens reflexcamera with a mirror which cannot cause secondary reflection of light inthe course of an exposure and which actually prevents secondaryreflection of scene light.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a singlelens reflexcamera with a mirror which may but need not return to its operativeposition upon completion of an exposure.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a singlelens reflexcamera with a mirror which renders it possible to make exposures with alens of short focal length.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspectiveview of a first single-lens reflex camera which embodies a two-piecereflecting mirror and a first actuating mechanism having a drive formoving the portions of the mirror between operative and inoperativepositrons;

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic vertical sectional view of the camera whichembodies the structure of FIG. I, the portions of the mirror being shownin their operative positions;

FIG. 3 illustrates the camera in the sectional view of FIG. 2 but withthe portions of the mirror shown in their inoperative positions;

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic vertical sectional view of a second single-lensreflex camera with a two'piece mirror and with a modified actuatingmechanism for moving the portions of the mirror between operative andinoperative positions;

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic perspective view of a third singlelens reflexcamera with a one-piece mirror and with means for selectively retainingthe mirror in its inoperative position, the mirror being shown inoperative position;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of certain parts of the structure shown inFIG. 5 and of certain additional components of the third camera; and

FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of a detail in the structure of FIG. 6, withthe mirror shown in its inoperative position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring first to FIGS. 1 to3, the numeral 1 denotes the camera body, the numeral 2 a picture takinglens mounted in the front portion of the camera body 1, and the numeral3 a composite light reflecting mirror which is normally positioned at anangle of 45 with reference to the optical axis of the lens 2. Thereflecting mirror 3 comprises a relatively long upper mirror portion 3aand a relatively short lower mirror portion 3b. The mirror portions 30,3b are respectively mounted in upper and lower mirror frames 4 and 5.The camera of FIGS. 5 to 7 employs a one-piece light reflecting mirror3.

The upper portion of the frame 4 has a bearing 7 for the median portionof a crankshaft 6 which comprises crank arms 9a, 9b flanking the bearing7 and being rotatable in bearings 8 provided therefor in the camerabody 1. The median portion of the crankshafi 6 defines a pivot axis forthe mirror portion 3a. The crank arm extends from the camera body 1 andis connected to a driver gear 10 which meshes with a second driver gearI] mounted on a shaft 12 which extends into the camera body and isjournalled in a bearing 13. The shaft 12 is secured to one end of alever 14 the other end of which carries a roller 15 extending into anelongated slot 16 provided in one side of the lower portion of the uppermirror frame 4. The slot 16 is parallel to the plane of the upper mirrorportion 3a. A gear segment [7 is mounted on a shaft 18 and meshes withthe gear 10 on the crankshaft 6. The gear segment 17 has an arm 19 whichis provided with a pin 20 and with a projection 23. A helical spring 2]one end of which is anchored in the camera body 1 biases the gearsegment 17 in a clockwise direction, as viewed in FIGS. 1 to 3. Thenumeral 22 denotes a pawl which is pivotably mounted in the camera body1 and can engage the projection 23 of the arm 19 so as to hold the gearsegment 17 against rotation under the action of the spring 21. The pawl22 can be disengaged from the projection 23 in response to actuation ofa shutter release element (not shown).

A shaft 24 which is rotatably mounted in the camera body 1 carries arigidly connected lever 26 which is biased against the pin 20 of the arm19 by a torsion spring 27. The shaft 24 is further rigidly connectedwith a second lever 25 which supports the frame 5 for the lower mirrorportion 3b. A film advancing or transporting lever 28 can be moved fromthe solidline position to the phantom-line position of FIG. I to therebypivot the gear segment 17 in a counterclockwise direction. A lens 29having a lower surface provided with a continuous groove is mounted inthe top wall of the camera body 1 directly below a focussing screen 30.The latter is mounted in the bottom part of a hood 32. The purpose ofthe lens 29 is to insure that the boundary line 31 between the mirrorportions 3a, 3b will not appear clearly on the focussing screen 30,i.e., that only the image will clearly appear. The shutter is shown at33, the film at 34 and a stop for the lower mirror portion at 35 Theoperation of the camera shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 is as follows:

IOH'MA til en During forward transport of the film 34, the lever 28 isshifted from the solid-line to the phantom-line position of FIG. 1whereby the gear segment 17 pivots in a counterclockwise direction aboutthe axis of the shah 18. The lever 28 is thereupon returned to thesolid-line position of FIG. 1 while the pawl 22 engages the projection23 and holds the gear segment 17 in the position of FIG. I in which themirror portions 30, 3b are located in a plane making an angle of 45 withthe optical axis.

By pressing the shutter release element, the user pivots the pawl 22 todisengage its pallet from the projection 23 of the arm 19 whereby thegear segment 17 rotates in a clockwise direction under the action of thespring 2l. The gear 10 is rotated in a counterclockwise direction anddrives the gear 11 in a clockwise direction. The crank shaft 6 lifts theupper portion of the mirror frame 4 and, at the same time, the lever 14lifts the lower portion of the mirror frame 4 in response to a clockwiserotation of the gear 11. The mirror portion 3a is thereby lifted to theposition V of parallelism with the focussing screen 30 (see FIG. 3).Several intermediate positions of the upper mirror frame 4 are shown inFIG. 3 by phantom lines and are indicated by characters I, II, III andIV. It will be seen that, when the release element is depressed, thepivot axis of the upper mirror portion 3a moves upwardly and rearwardlyi.e., sideways) because the gear 10 rotates the median portion of thecrankshaft 6 and the bearing 7 in a counterclockwise direction while theroller 15 lifts the lower portion of the minor frame 4. The frame 4 andthe mirror portion 3 prevent scene light from reaching the focussingscreen 30 during opening of the shutter 33.

when the gear segment 17 rotates the gear 10 in a counterclockwisedirection to move the upper portion of the mirror frame 4 upwardly andrearwardly, the pin 20 on the arm 19 of the gear segment 17 pivots thelever 26 in a counterclockwise direction against the opposition of thespring 27 whereby the shaft 24 pivots the lever 25 and the lower mirrorframe in a counterclockwise direction to the position shown in FIG. 3 bysolid lines. The reflecting surface of the mirror portion 3b is thenlocated behind an internal wall 1' of the camera body I. The movement ofthe mirror portion 3b from the solid-line position of FIG. 2 to thesolid-line position of FIG. 3 takes place along an arcuate path havingits center of curvature on the axis of the shaft 24. The shutter 33 isopened to expose the film 34 to scene light while the mirror portions 30and 3b dwell in the inoperative positions shown in FIG. 3.

When the exposure is completed, the user cocks the shutter 33 andtransports the film 34 whereby the gear segment 17 pivots in acounterclockwise direction to respectively rotate the gears and II in aclockwise and in a counterclockwise direction. The portions 3a, 3b ofthe mirror 3 are thereby returned to the positions shown in FIG. 2 to belocated in a plane which makes with the optical axis of the lens 2 anangle of 45. The lower mirror frame 5 is pivoted from the position ofFIG. 3 to the position of FIG. 2 under the action of the spring 27 andthe upper mirror frame 4 is pivoted to the position of FIG. 2 by themedian portion of the crankshaft 6 and by the roller in the slot 16 ofthe frame 4. The pawl 22 reengages the projection 23 of the gear segmentI7 and remains in the position of FIG. I until the user decides to makethe next exposure. Such next exposure is made in response to actuationof the release element which disengages the pawl 22 from the projection23 so that the gear segment 17 can rotate under the action of the spring2!. It will be seen that, unless the user causes the lever 28 to returnthe projection 23 of the gear segment 17 into engagement with the pawl22, the mirror portions 3a, 3b remain in the inoperative positions whichare shown in FIG. 3. As will be described in connection with FIGS. 5 to7, the camera can be provided with means for automatically returning themirror portions 30, 3b to the operative positions of FIG. 2 uponcompletion of each exposure.

FIG. 4 illustrates certain details of a slightly modified camera whereinthe upper mirror portion 3a is pivotable about the axis of a shaft 60which replaces the crankshaft 6 and the roller l5 of the camera shown inFIGS. 1 to 3. Otherwise, the manner in which the mirror portions 3a. 3bare pivotable LITA between the solid-line and phantom-line positions ofFIG. 4 is the same as described in connection with FIGS. 1 to 3excepting that the upper mirror portion 3a performs a simple pivotalmovement about a fixed axis.

The camera of FIGS. 5 to 7 can employ a light reflecting mirror whichconsists of several portions or which is a onepiece body denoted by thenumeral 3 and mounted in a frame 3' which performs movements similar tothose of the frame 4 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3. In FIG. 5, the mirror 3 islocated in a plane making an angle of 45 with the optical axis of thelens, not shown. FIG. 7 shows the mirror 3 in the raised or inoperativeposition in which its reflecting surface is adjacent to the underside ofthe focussing screen (not shown).

The camera of FIGS. 5 to 7 further comprises a plate-like driving member36 which is rotatably mounted on the shaft l8 for the gear segment 17. Atorsion spring 37 which is convoluted around the shaft 18 replaces thespring 21 of FIGS. 1 to 3 and has one of its ends engaging a retainer onthe driving member 36. The other end of the spring 37 bears against aretainer of the gear segment 17 so that the segment I7 is biased in aclockwise direction while the driving member 36 tends to rotate in acounterclockwise direction.

A lever 38 is secured to a shaft 39 and is biased in a clockwisedirection, as viewed in FIGS. 6 and 7, by a torsion spring 40. A pin 41at the upper end of the lever 38 extends into a slot 42 of the drivingmember 36. The lever 38 can be pivoted by a crank 44 which serves torotate a gear 45 meshing with a gear 46. The gear 46 carries a plate cam43 having a lobe 43a and being tracked by a follower 47 secured to theshaft 39 for the lever 38. The cam 43 completes one revolution duringeach transport of the film by the length of a frame and thereby causesthe follower 47 to pivot in a counterclockwise direction to stress thespring 40. The pin 41 of the lever 38 then causes the driving member 36to rotate in a clockwise direction. A pin 48 on the driving member 36 isthen moved into engagement with a projection or stop 49 on the gearsegment 17.

The pawl 22 is pivotable on a shaft 50. The pallet at the upper end ofthe pawl 22 engages the projection 23 on the gear segment 17 prior tothe making of an exposure. The lower portion of the pawl 22 is locatedin the path of movement of an upwardly bent end portion 51a provided ona reciprocable link 51. The link 51 can be moved back and forth by acoupling pin 53 provided on one arm of a two-armed lever 52 which ispivotable with reference to the bottom wall of the camera body and theother arm of which can be engaged by a downwardly extending projection56 provided on the shank 55 of the release element 54.

The camera of FIGS. 5 to 7 further includes a mechanism for rapidlyreturning the mirror 3 to the position of FIG. 5 and a mechanism forholding the mirror 3 in the inoperative position of FIG. 7. A gear 57which is driven by the gear 45 in response to rotation of the crank 44carries a plate cam 58 which cooperates with a holder 59 for the frontcurtain of the shutter 33 (not shown in FIGS. 5 to 7). A lever 60 servesto disengage the holder 59 from the cam 58 so as to permit the frontcurtain of the shutter to move independently of the cam 58. The lever 60is mounted on a shaft 6! which is biased in a counterclockwise directionby a spring 62 to urge a pin 66 of the lever 60 against the lower arm ofthe curtain holder 59 and to urge a second pin 63 of the lever 60against the arm a of a first trip 65. The trip 65 is mounted on a shaft64 and its other arm is coupled to a pin 68 which is biased downwardly,as viewed in FIG. 5, by a helical spring 69. The pin 68 is provided atthe lower end of a link 67 having a bent upper end portion 670 whichextends into the path of movement of the frame 3 for the mirror 3. Whenthe mirror 3 is caused to pivot to the position of FIG. 7, the frame 3'engages the end portion 67a and lifts the link 67 whereby the trip 65moves its arm 65a away from the pin 63 on the lever 60. The link 67 thenstresses the spring 69.

A second or auxiliary trip 70 is freely rotatable on the shaft 64 forthe trip 65 and is biased in a clockwise direction by a HIIMA m Itorsion spring 71. The upper arm 70a of the auxiliary trip 70 engagesthe pin 63 of the lever 60 when it assumes the position shown in FIG. 5and when the pin 63 is not engaged by the upper am 650 of the trip 65.The arm 70a is slightly shorter than the arm 65a so that it can bypassthe pin 63 when the latter is engaged by the arm 65a. The lower arm 70bof the auxiliary trip 70 normally engages a bent-over portion 72 of theshank 55 of the release element 54.

A pawl 73 is pivotable on the shaft 18 to move into and from engagementwith a projection 74 on the driving member 36. The pawl 73 can bepivoted by a link 75 which is movable up and down by a lever 76connected with the rear curtain of the shutter. A bell crank 77 isrotatable on the shaft [8 and is biased in a clockwise direction by atorsion spring 78. When the arm 77a of the bell crank 77 engages a stop79, the other arm 77b of the bell crank engages the projection 74 of thedriving member 36. The length of the arm 77b is slightly less than thelength of the pawl 73. A bar 80 is provided with a bent end portion 80awhich can pivot the pawl 22 and with a projection 80b which can pivotthe bell crank 77. A manually pivotable selector lever 81 is mounted ona pivot pin 82 of the camera body 1 and its upper arm is provided with aknob 83. The lower arm of the selector lever 80 is bifurcated, as at 84,and receives a pin 85 on the bar 80. Thus, the bar 80 can be moved backand forth in response to pivoting of the selector lever 81.

The operation of the camera shown in FIGS. 5 to 7 is as follows:

When the user rotates the crank 44 in a counterclockwise direction(indicated by the arrow), the gear 45 rotates the gears 46 and $7 toactuate the mirror moving mechanism and to cock the focal plane shutter.The lobe 43a of the cam 43 moves the follower 47 from the phantom-lineposition to the solid-line position of FIG. 6. The follower 47 pivotsthe lever 38 in a counterclockwise direction to thereby rotate thedriving member 36 in a clockwise direction against the opposition of thespring 37. The driving member 36 moves its projection 74 into engagementwith the pawl 73. The spring 37 biases the gear segment 17 in aclockwise direction but the gear segment cannot rotate because itsprojection 23 is engaged by the pawl 22. The mirror 3 remains in theposition shown in FIGS. 5 and 6.

The gear 57 which is rotated by the gear 45 in response to rotation ofthe crank 44 in a counterclockwise direction causes the cam 58 to pivotthe holder 59 which moves the front curtain of the shutter so that theshutter is cocked. The lever SI is in the position which is shown inFIG. 6 by solid lines. Therefore, the projection 80b of the bar 80maintains the bell crank 77 in the position of FIG. 6 in which theprojection 80b bears against the arm 77a and maintains the spring 78 instressed condition. As stated before, the arm 77b is slightly shorterthan the pawl 73 so that it can bypass the projection 74 of the drivingmember 36. The user thereupon depresses the release element 54 so thatthe shank 55 moves inwardly and its portion 72 pivots the lower arm 70bof the auxiliary trip 70 in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed inFIG. 5. The arm 70a is then moved away from the pin 63. Since the arm70a is shorter than the trip 65, it can pivot without touching the pin63.

The projection 56 of the shank 55 pivots the lever 52 which moves thelink 51 by way of the coupling pin 53 whereby the end portion 510 of thelink 51 pivots the pawl 22 in a clockwise direction to move the palletof the pawl 22 away from the projection 23. The gear segment 17 rotatesin a clockwise direction under the action of the spring 37 and drivesthe gears 10, 11 to thereby move the mirror 3 to the position shown inFIG. 7. As the frame 3' moves toward the position of FIG. 7, it engagesthe end portion 670 of the link 67 and pivots the trip 65 bysimultaneously stressing the spring 69. The arm 65a of the trip 65 movesaway from the pin 63. The spring 62 pivots the lever 60 in acounterclockwise direction and the pin 66 pivots the holder 59 in aclockwise direction so that the holder 59 is disengaged from the cam 58.

The front curtain of the shutter is free to move to the open position.

when the movements of the front and rear shutter curtains are completed,the link is pulled downwardly by the lever 76 which is connected to therear shutter curtain whereby the pawl 73 moves away from the projection74 of the driving member 36. The member 36 is then rotated in acounterclockwise direction by the spring 40 which is free to pivot thelever 38 in a clockwise direction. The pin 48 of the driving member 36engages the stop 49 of the gear segment 17 to rotate the latter in acounterclockwise direction so that the gears 10, ll return the mirror 3to the operative position shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. It will be seen that,when the selector lever 81 is maintained in the solid-line position ofFIG. 6, the mirror 3 automatically returns to the operative position ofFIGS. 5 and 6 when the exposure is completed.

If the mirror 3 is to be maintained in the inoperative position of FIG.7 during intervals between two or more successive exposures, theselector lever 81 is pivoted by way of the knob 83 so as to assume thephantom-line position of FIG. 6. Such pivotal movement of the selectorlever 81 causes the projec tion b of the bar 80 to move forwardly, asviewed in FIG. 6, so that the bell crank 77 is free to pivot in aclockwise direction under the action of the spring 78 until the arm 77areaches and abuts against the stop 79. The arm 77b then moves into thepath of the projection 74 on the driving member 36. The end portion 800of the bar 80 pivots the pawl 22 in a clockwise direction to disengagethe pawl from the projection 23 so that the gear segment 17 turns in aclockwise direction and causes the gears 10, II to move the mirror 3 tothe position shown in FIG. 7.

As the mirror frame 3' moves toward the position of FIG. 7, it engagesthe end portion 670 and lifts the link 67 which disengages the arm 65aof the trip 65 from the pin 63. However, since the release element 54 isin the idle position, the lever 60 pivots very slightly in acounterclockwise direction so that its pin 63 engages the auxiliary trip70. When the user wishes to make an exposure, the release element 54 isdepressed to disengage the auxiliary trip 70 from the pin 63 so that thelever 60 is free to pivot in a counterclockwise direction and disengagesthe holder 59 from the cam 58. The front curtain of the shutter is thenfree to move.

When the shutter closes to complete the exposure, the lever 76 whichcooperates with the rear shutter curtain causes the link 75 to disengagethe pawl 73 from the projection 74 of the driving member 36. However,the bell crank 77 merely permits the driving member 36 to rotate veryslightly in a counterclockwise direction until the projection 74 strikesagainst the arm 77b. Thus, the mirror 3 remains in the position shown inFIG. 7. The opening of the shutter can be repeated as often as desired,as long as the selector lever 8i remains in the phantom-line position ofFIG. 6.

Thus, the selector lever 81 can assume a first position in which itenables the mechanism of the camera to return the mirror 3 to theoperative position of FIG. 5 after each exposure, and a second positionin which the mirror 3 is held in the inoperative position of FIG. 7during and between two or more successive exposures.

An important advantage of the improved camera is that the mirrorportions 3a, 3b of FIGS. 1-4 or the mirror 3 of FIGS. 5-7 cannot causesecondary reflection of light which enters the camera body 1 when theuser makes an exposure. The reflecting surface of the mirror portion 3aor of the mirror 3 shown in FIGS. 5-7 faces upwardly and is adjacent tothe underside of the focussing screen 30 when the camera is set to makean exposure, and the reflecting surface of the lower mirror portion 3bthen faces the internal wall 1' of the body 1 so that it cannot reflectlight which enters by way of the lens 2. The improved mirror can beincorporated in cameras employing lenses with short focal length as wellas large-diameter lenses. The improved mirror allows for the use of acompact camera body even if the camera uses a large film. The secondaryreflection is prevented without the utilization of a separatelight-intercepting element, such as a plate or the like. The lens 29insures that the boundary line 31 between the mirror portions 30 and 3bis not seen on the focussing screen 30.

The improved camera is susceptible of many additional modificationswithout departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in theappended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a single-lens reflex camera, a combination comprising a camerabody having a front portion and a rear portion; a lens mounted in saidfront portion; focusing means mounted in said body at a level above saidlens and including a stationary lightdispersing element; means forreflecting against said focusing means at least some scene lightentering said body by way of said lens, comprising at least one mirrormounted in said body behind said lens and being movable with referenceto said focusing means between an operative position at an acute angleto the optical axis of said lens to reflect scene light against saidfocusing means and an inoperative position; and actuating means formoving said mirror between said positions, said actuating means definingfor said mirror a pivot axis which is at least substantially normal tosaid optical axis and said actuating means having drive means forpivoting said mirror about said pivot axis with reference to saidfocusing means and for moving said pivot axis along a curved path in adirection towards said rear portion of said camera body andsimultaneously upwards towards said stationary lightdispersing elementso that due to such combined movement of said mirror axis said mirrorwill bypass said lens during its movement towards said light-dispersingelement.

2. A combination as defined in claim 1, wherein said pivot axis islocated at a level above said optical axis and said drive means isarranged to move said pivot axis upwardly and away from said lens whilesaid mirror pivots during movement from said operative to saidinoperative position.

3. A combination as defined in claim I. further comprising release meansoperative to efi'ect a movement of said mirror to said inoperativeposition, film advancing means actuatable to advance the film withreference to said lens, and means for returning said mirror to saidoperative position in response to actuation of said film advancingmeans.

4. A combination as defined in claim 3, further comprising selectormeans operable to effect retention of said mirror in said inoperativeposition.

I! l I l i

1. In a single-lens reflex camera, a combination comprising a camerabody having a front portion and a rear portion; a lens mounted in saidfront portion; focusing means mounted in said body at a level above saidlens and including a stationary lightdispersing element; means forreflecting against said focusing means at least some scene lightentering said body by way of said lens, comprising at least one mirrormounted in said body behind said lens and being movable with referenceto said focusing means between an operative position at an acute angleto the optical axis of said lens to reflect scene light against saidfocusing means and an inoperative position; and actuating means formoving said mirror between said positions, said actuating means definingfor said mirror a pivot axis which is at least substantially normal tosaid optical axis and said actuating means having drive means forpivoting said mirror about said pivot axis with reference to saidfocusing means and for moving said pivot axis along a curved path in adirection towards said rear portion of said camera body andsimultaneously upwards towards said stationary light-dispersing elementso that due to such combined movement of said mirror axis said mirrorwill bypass said lens during its movement towards said light-dispersingelement.
 2. A combination as defined in claim 1, wherein said pivot axisis located at a level above said optical axis and said drive means isarranged to move said pivot axis upwardly and away from said lens whilesaid mirror pivots during movement from said operative to saidinoperative position.
 3. A combination as defined in claim 1, furthercomprising release means operative to effect a movement of said mirrorto said inoperative position, film advancing means actuatable to advancethe film with reference to said lens, and means for returning saidmirror to said operative position in response to actuation of said filmadvancing means.
 4. A combination as defined in claim 3, furthercomprising selector means operable to effect retention of said mirror insaid inoperative position.